Campfire tool holding apparatus

ABSTRACT

A campfire tool holding apparatus for inserting into the ground includes a top fork connected through an upper portion to a slide hammer shaft inserted slidingly through a slide hammer having an internal passage, said slide hammer traveling along said slide hammer shaft between an upper terminus and a lower terminus, and said top fork having a plurality of curved hooks, a lamp extension, and a threaded ground stake mating nut, a lower portion connecting said lower terminus to a ground stake connector, said lower portion having a bottom fork with a plurality of curved hooks for holding campfire tools and having a hooked ground stake end holder, and a ground stake threadably mateable to said lower portion when in use and threadably mateable to said threaded ground stake mating nut when in transport or in storage and having a sharpened end for insertion into the ground. The campfire tool holding apparatus when configured is a long column that inserts into the ground using the force assisting slide hammer and removes from the ground using the force assisting slide hammer. A campfire tool holding apparatus for attaching to the edge of a table and holding campfire tools and a lamp includes a top fork on a rod, said fork having a plurality of curved hooks and a lamp extension, and said rod having a connector nut; and a table clamp threadably connectable to said rod through said connector nut, said table clamp provided with hooked extensions for holding campfire tools.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

Applicant's invention relates to methods and devices for holding campfire tools.

BACKGROUND

Camping is a long established past time for families. A grand tradition is the campfire. Roasting hot dogs or marshmallows, or other types of cooking is a cherished recreation. So too is the family barbecue which can happen in the back yard, in the trunk, or at an established campsite. A long known need for these activities are the tools of the trade. The forks, the brushes, the pokers, among others. There have been numerous ways to stage these campfire or barbecue tools, but there has long been a need for a way to have a tool stand be easily and securely inserted in the ground, with normal strength and no digging, and yet remain easy to remove and easy to pack up. Similarly, there has long been a need for a campfire or barbecue tool stand which holds the tools conveniently and easily and can be simply attached to a bumper, or a picnic table, or another supporting structure. As the sunlight wanes, the feasting continues only with artificial light, and it is desirable that a campfire tool holder can be configured to hold a lamp to shed additional light on the family event. Similarly, a family can benefit where the holder can hold other accessories such as a windsock or wind chimes.

The following represents a list of known related art:

Date of Reference: Issued to: Issue/Publication: US Pat Pub 2006/0180558 A1 Enberg Aug. 17, 2006 U.S. Pat. No. 6,736,358 Johnson May 18, 2004 U.S. Pat. No. 5,108,058 White Apr. 28, 1992 U.S. Pat. No. 4,320,700 Stachowicz Mar. 23, 1982 U.S. Pat. No. 3,333,807 Locatelli Aug. 1, 1967 U.S. Pat. No. 2,597,157 Martino May 20, 1952 U.S. Pat. No. 1,799,079 Bemis Mar. 31, 1931

The teachings of each of the above-listed citations (which does not itself incorporate essential material by reference) are herein incorporated by reference. None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singularly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.

The known art does not teach or suggest a campfire tool holding apparatus which has the following combination of desirable features: (1) a slide hammer for ground insertion and removal; (2) table clamping means; (3) a campfire tool hanging multidirectional prong with lamp hanging feature which can also adaptable for other accessories such as windsocks or wind chimes; (4) can be taken down and compactly stored for transportation or storage; (5) easily inserted in the ground with normal strength; (6) easily removed from the ground with normal strength; and (7) can be easily attached to a table or similar surface.

SUMMARY AND ADVANTAGES

A campfire tool, holding apparatus for inserting into the ground includes a top fork connected through an upper portion to a slide hammer shaft inserted slidingly through a slide hammer having an internal passage, said slide hammer traveling along said slide hammer shaft between an upper terminus and a lower terminus, and said top fork having a plurality of curved hooks, a lamp extension, and a threaded ground stake mating nut, a lower portion connecting said lower terminus to a ground stake connector, said lower portion having a bottom fork with a plurality of curved hooks for holding campfire tools and having a hooked ground stake end holder, and a ground stake threadably mateable to said lower portion when in use and threadably mateable to said threaded ground stake mating nut when in transport or in storage and having a sharpened end for insertion into the ground. The campfire tool holding apparatus when configured is a long column that inserts into the ground using the force assisting slide hammer and removes from the ground using the force assisting slide hammer.

A campfire tool holding apparatus for attaching to the edge of a table and holding campfire tools and a lamp includes a top fork on a rod, said fork having a plurality of curved hooks and a lamp extension, and said rod having a connector nut, and a table clamp threadably connectable to said rod through said connector nut, said table clamp provided with hooked extensions for holding campfire tools.

The campfire tool holding apparatus of the present invention presents numerous advantages, including: (1) a slide hammer for ground insertion and removal; (2) a table clamping means; (3) a campfire tool hanging multidirectional prong with lamp hanging feature which can also adaptable for other accessories such as windsocks or wind chimes; (4) can be taken down and compactly stored for transportation or storage; (5) can be easily inserted in the ground with normal strength; (6) can be easily removed from the ground with normal strength; (7) can be easily attached to a table or similar surface; (8) enhances camping safety; and (9) is easy to clean, among others. Additional advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims. Further benefits and advantages of the embodiments of the invention will become apparent from consideration of the following detailed description given with reference to the accompanying drawings, which specify and show preferred embodiments of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated into and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate one or more embodiments of the present invention and, together with the detailed description, serve to explain the principles and implementations of the invention.

FIG. 1 shows a ground inserting embodiment of a campfire tool holding apparatus.

FIG. 2 shows a view of the ground inserting embodiment of a campfire tool holding apparatus shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 2A shows a view of the ground inserting embodiment of a campfire tool holding apparatus shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 3 shows the top fork of the ground inserting embodiment of a campfire tool holding apparatus shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 shows a bottom view of the top fork of the ground inserting embodiment of a campfire tool holding apparatus shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 shows the bottom fork of the ground inserting embodiment of a campfire tool holding apparatus shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 6 shows a table attaching embodiment of a campfire tool holding apparatus.

FIG. 7 shows another view of a table attaching embodiment of a campfire tool holding apparatus shown in FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 shows a top fork of the table attaching embodiment of a campfire tool holding apparatus shown in FIG. 6.

FIG. 9 shows a bottom view of the top fork of the table attaching embodiment of a campfire tool holding apparatus shown in FIG. 6.

REFERENCE NUMBERS

-   -   100 Campfire tool holding apparatus first embodiment     -   102 Top fork of first embodiment     -   104 Top fork hook extensions of first embodiment     -   106 Lamp extension of first embodiment     -   108 Lamp extension threaded nut     -   110 Upper portion     -   112 Upper terminus     -   120 Slide hammer shaft     -   122 Lower terminus     -   130 Slide hammer     -   132 Internal passage     -   140 Bottom fork     -   142 Bottom fork hooked extension     -   144 Ground stake holder     -   150 Lower portion     -   152 Connector     -   160 Ground stake     -   162 Ground stake insertion end     -   164 Ground stake threaded end     -   200 Campfire tool holding apparatus second embodiment     -   202 Rod     -   204 Rod connector     -   210 Table clamp     -   212 Table clamp threaded end     -   214 Table clamp hook extensions     -   216 Table clamp clamping knob     -   218 Table clamp frame     -   220 Top fork of second embodiment     -   222 Top fork hook extension of second embodiment     -   224 Top fork lamp extension of second embodiment     -   L Lamp     -   T Campfire tools

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Before beginning a detailed description of the subject invention, mention of the following is in order. When appropriate, like reference materials and characters are used to designate identical, corresponding, or similar components in differing figure drawings. The figure drawings associated with this disclosure typically are not drawn with dimensional accuracy to scale, i.e., such drawings have been drafted with a focus on clarity of viewing and understanding rather than dimensional accuracy.

In the interest of clarity, not all of the routine features of the implementations described herein are shown and described. It will, of course, be appreciated that in the development of any such actual implementation, numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made in order to achieve the developer's specific goals, such as compliance with application- and business-related constraints, and that these specific goals will vary from one implementation to another and from one developer to another. Moreover, it will be appreciated that such a development effort might be complex and time-consuming, but would nevertheless be a routine undertaking of engineering for those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of this disclosure.

As shown in FIGS. 1-5, a campfire tool holding apparatus in the first embodiment 100 has a top fork 102, an upper portion 110, a shaft slide hammer shaft 120, a slide hammer 130, a bottom fork 140, a lower portion 150, and a ground stake 160. The campfire tool holding apparatus 100 is inserted in the ground using a slide hammer 130, and can hold a lamp L and barbecue tools T using a unique multidirectional prong 102, and which can be disassembled for convenient carrying. In this embodiment, a campfire tool holding apparatus 100 for inserting into the ground includes a top fork 102 connected through an upper portion 110 to a slide hammer shaft 120 inserted slidingly through a slide hammer 130 having an internal passage 132, said slide hammer 130 traveling along said slide hammer shaft 120 between an upper terminus 112 and a lower terminus 122, and said top fork 102 having a plurality of curved hooks 104, a lamp extension 106, and a threaded ground stake mating nut 108, a lower portion 150 connecting said lower terminus 122 to a ground stake connector 152, said lower portion 150 having a bottom fork 140 with a plurality of curved hooks 142 for holding campfire tools T and having a hooked ground stake end holder 144, and a ground stake 160 threadably mateable by a threaded end 164 to said lower portion connector 152 when in use, see FIG. 2, and threadably mateable by a threaded end 164 to said threaded ground stake mating nut 108 when in transport or in storage, see FIG. 2A, and having a sharpened end 162 for insertion into the ground. The campfire tool holding apparatus 100 when configured is a long column that inserts into the ground using the force assisting slide hammer 130 acting against the lower terminus 122 and removes from the ground using the force assisting slide hammer 130 acting against the upper terminus 112.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, top fork 102 is a unique multi-directional prong having in the preferred configuration, four sets of two extensions 104 at right angles, forming a rudimentary cross, bent upwards at end to create tool holding hooks. Top fork 102 also includes a lamp extension 106. Lamp extension 106 can have, in the first embodiment of a campfire tool holding apparatus 100, a mating nut 108 attached to the bottom to which a ground stake 160 can be screwed for ease of transportation and storage when not in use.

Top fork 102 is attached to the top of the upper portion 110. Upper portion 110 is preferably a rod connecting the top fork 102 to the slide hammer shaft 120. Slide hammer shaft 120 is a portion of rod over which the slide hammer 130 travels up and down between the upper terminus 112 of the slide hammer shaft 120 to the lower terminus 122 of the slide hammer shaft 120 to provide force to insert or remove the campfire tool holder 100 from the ground. Slide hammer 130 is a weighted columnar canister with an internal passage 132 through which the slide hammer shaft 120 is inserted slidingly therethrough.

Bottom fork 140 attached at the bottom of the slide hammer shaft 120 and connects the slide hammer shaft 120 to the lower portion 150. Bottom fork 140 is provided with a plurality of extensions 142 curved up to create tool holding hooks, as well as a curled ground stake holder extension 144 for securing the sharpened end 162 of the ground stake 160 in conjunction with the lamp extension threaded nut 108 for ease of transportation and storage when not in use. Lower portion 150 is preferably a rod which connects the bottom fork 140 and slide hammer shaft 120 to the ground stake 160 with a threaded connector 152.

Ground stake 160 preferably includes a sharpened end 162, and a threaded end 164. Threaded end 164 mates by threads into a connector 152 on the campfire tool holder lower portion 150, and, for ease of transportation and storage when not in use, mates by threading into to the lamp extension threaded nut 108, see FIG. 2A.

In a preferred embodiment of the first embodiment of a campfire tool holding apparatus, 100, top fork 102 is welded to upper portion 110, upper portion 110 is attached to slide hammer shaft 120 upper terminus 112 by threaded mating ends, bottom fork 140 is welded to lower portion 150 and slide hammer shaft 120 is attached to lower terminus 122 by threaded mating ends, and bottom fork 140 is attached to lower portion 150 by threaded mating ends. Lower portion 150 is attached to lower portion connector 152 by threaded mating ends. A number ways to make these attachments are known to those of skill in the art, such as by welding, among others. In the preferred embodiment, the components are made of steel or other suitable strong metal.

In operation in the first embodiment of a campfire tool holder 100, campfire tool holder ground stake 160 is unscrewed from lamp extension threaded nut 108, see FIG. 2A, and removed from bottom fork ground stake holder 144. Ground stake threaded end 164 is screwed into the lower portion connector 152, which is preferably a threaded nut. Ground stake sharpened end 162 is then positioned to enter the ground and campfire tool holder 100 is held in an essentially vertical position. User grasps slide hammer 130, raises slide hammer 130 up, causing slide hammer 130 to travel up slide hammer shaft 120, and slides slide hammer 130 down shaft 120 to impinge on lower terminus 122. The force created by the acceleration and weight of the slide hammer 130 translates to the sharpened end 162 of the ground stake 160, thus driving the ground stake 160 into the ground. This can be repeated as many times as necessary. User then hangs tools T on the extension hooks 104, 142, and hangs a lamp L from the lamp extension 106. When camping is concluded, the tools T and lamp L are removed. The user grabs the slide hammer 130 and slides the slide hammer 130 quickly up, causing the campfire tool holder 100 to raise out of the ground when the slide hammer 130 impinges on the upper terminus 112. This can be repeated as necessary to completely remove the ground stake 160 from the ground. Ground stake 160 is unscrewed from the lower portion connector 152. As shown in FIG. 2A, the ground stake threaded end 164 is screwed into the lamp extension threaded nut 108, and its sharpened end 162 is positioned within the hook of the curved ground stake holder 144.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a campfire tool holding apparatus in the second embodiment 200 attaches to the edge of a picnic table top and holds a lamp L and barbecue tools T with a unique multidirectional prong, the top fork 220, having extensions 222 and can also hang a lamp L on a lamp extension 224. A campfire tool holding apparatus 200 for attaching to the edge of a table and holding campfire tools and a lamp includes a top fork 220 on a rod 202, said fork 220 having a plurality of curved hooks 222 and a lamp extension 224, and said rod 202 having a connector 204, preferably a threaded nut; and a table clamp 210 threadably connectable to said rod 202 through said connector 204, said table clamp 210 provided with hooked extensions 214 for holding campfire tools T. In this embodiment, the campfire tool holding apparatus 200 includes the top fork 220 of the second embodiment, a rod 202, a connector 204, and a table clamp 210. Table clamp 210 has a threaded end 212 which mateably screws to the connector 204. Table clamp is a rectangular “C” shaped frame with a face 218 with provided with hooked extensions 214 for holding campfire tools T. Table clamp 210 tightens to a table with the table clamp knob 216.

In a preferred embodiment of the second embodiment of a campfire tool holding apparatus, 200, top fork 220 is welded to upper portion rod 202, and rod 202 is welded to rod connector 204. A number ways to make these attachments are known to those of skill in the art, such as by welding or threaded and mating ends, among others. In the preferred embodiment, the components are made of steel or other suitable strong metal.

In the second embodiment of a campfire tool holder 200, user arriving at a location for campfire or barbecue, screws table clamp threaded end 212 into rod connector 204. User then clamps table clamp 210 to a suitable surface, such as a table, and tightens the clamp knob 216 to secure the table clamp 210 to the table. User then hangs campfire tools T from the hooked extensions 214, 222, and a lamp L from the lamp post extension 224. When the campfire or barbecue is concluded, the use unscrews the rod connector 204 from the table clamp threaded end 212 and then unscrews the clamp knob 216 to release the table clamp 210. Attaching the table clamp 210 to a table, and attaching the rod connector 204 to the table clamp 210, can be performed in any order.

Those skilled in the art will recognize that numerous modifications and changes may be made to the preferred embodiment without departing from the scope of the claimed invention. It will, of course, be understood that modifications of the invention, in its various aspects, will be apparent to those skilled in the art, some being apparent only after study, others being matters of routine mechanical, chemical and electronic design. No single feature, function or property of the preferred embodiment is essential. Other embodiments are possible, their specific designs depending upon the particular application. As such, the scope of the invention should not be limited by the particular embodiments herein described but should be defined only by the appended claims and equivalents thereof. 

1. A campfire tool holding apparatus for inserting into the ground, comprising: a top fork connected through an upper portion to a slide hammer shaft inserted slidingly through a slide hammer having an internal passage, said slide hammer traveling along said slide hammer shaft between an upper terminus and a lower terminus, and said top fork having a plurality of curved hooks, a lamp extension, and a threaded ground stake mating nut; a lower portion connecting said bottom fork to a ground stake connector, said lower portion having a bottom fork with a plurality of curved hooks for holding campfire tools and having a hooked ground stake end holder; and a ground stake threadably mateable to said lower portion when in use and threadably mateable to said threaded ground stake mating nut when in transport or in storage and having a sharpened end for insertion into the ground; and wherein the campfire tool holding apparatus when configured is a long column that inserts into the ground using the force assisting slide hammer and removes from the ground using the force assisting slide hammer.
 2. The campfire tool holding apparatus of claim 1, having eight curved hooks on said top fork in four sets of two forming a cross shape.
 3. A campfire tool holding apparatus for inserting into the ground, comprising: a column, having a detachable ground stake with a pointed end, a top fork having a plurality of curved hooks, a lamp extension, and a threaded ground stake mating nut, a bottom fork having a plurality of curved hooks for holding campfire tools and having a hooked ground stake end holder; weighted sliding means on said column providing force assistance to insert a pointed end of said column into the ground, and providing force assistance to remove said column from the ground; and a ground stake detachable from said column, said ground stake mateable to said threaded ground stake mating nut when in transport or in storage and having a sharpened end for insertion into the ground.
 4. The campfire tool holding apparatus of claim 3, having eight curved hooks on said top fork in four sets of two forming a cross shape.
 5. A campfire tool holding apparatus for attaching to the edge of a table and holding campfire tools and a lamp, comprising: top fork on a rod, said top fork having a plurality of curved hooks and a lamp extension, and said rod having a connector; and a table clamp threadably connectable to said rod through said connector, said table clamp provided with hooked extensions for holding campfire tools.
 6. The campfire tool holding apparatus of claim 5, having eight curved hooks on said top fork in four sets of two forming a cross shape. 